Black Hawk East to host Illinois Forage Institute

The Illinois Forage Institute will be held on Tuesday, March 5, at Black Hawk College East Campus, on Routes 34 and 78 south of Kewanee.

The 2013 institute will be held in the Conference Center in Building 1 on the Quad at the East Campus.

The educational program, beginning at 9 a.m. and concluding at 4 p.m., will focus on managing hay land and pastures.

The program will include commercial exhibits focusing on the forage industry.

Topics to be presented in the morning include forages for horses, forage species selection, pasture weed control, pasture fertility, and costs to produce hay.

The afternoon topics include soil sampling for pastures, grazing cover crops, economics of pasture forage production, pasture renovation after the drought, and feeding livestock on drought-damaged hay and forage.

Program presenters include staff from University of Illinois Extension, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and forage industry companies. Several beef producers will also make presentations.

The cost is $15 per person for Illinois Forage and Grassland Council (IFGC) members and $20 per person for non-members. Advance registration is requested by Friday, Feb. 22. The cost will be $20 and $25 per person after Feb. 22 and at the door on March 5, respectively.